Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast, and practitioner, Chris Guy. Instagram: @therealsethgeko | Twitter: @DadHallOfFamer

Top BONUS Offers 🇺🇸

Kalshi: Fight night has markets too. Get $10 to trade your UFC takes.

Polymarket iOS: Turn your UFC picks into a market move. Deposit $20, get $50.

Main Card

Dricus Du Plessis (-238) vs. Kamaru Usman (+195)

DDP: DK: $9k | Usman: DK:$7.2k

About last night...

If anybody ever did me the way Paddy Pimblett did BSD, I’d powder up my hands like the LeBron James pregame ritual and Power Slap my damn self, making sure I was in position to head bang my computer desk on the way down. Paddy looked like a face sucker from the Alien movies while latching on to BSD’s neck with both legs thrown over his shoulders. A homie had to sleep on the couch after my wife walked into the living room at that exact moment, accusing me of watching explicit content on some Paddy Does BSD type-ish. It didn’t help matters that I was chest naked and still out of breath after celebrating King Green’s improbable comeback win against the One-Minute Man, Terrance McKinney. 

Then Conor McGregor turned into a manifestation of the viral memes of dudes in their 40s fading into apparitions as they look back on their lifeless bodies after doing some shit they did in their 20s with ease, like hopping over a chain-link fence or jumping down the last two steps on a flight of stairs. McGregor tried that same, tired-ass jumping-switch roundhouse he does in every training montage and looked back at himself lying in a miserable heap like one of Sid from Toy Story’s victims left to rot in the sandbox. During the introductions, he looked like me in the waiting room before getting my wisdom teeth pulled. He looked like a condemned man walking the Green Mile. It was at that moment that I knew the main event dub streak would remain intact. In the end, you either retire a hero, or you fight long enough to see yourself become a knock-out meme.  

But now we must leave McGregor’s career in the rearview and redirect our attention to what lies ahead, lest we veer off the road and over the side of a cliff like Thelma and Louise. Dricus Du Plessis and Kamaru Usman got next. After Khamzat failed to defend his title even once, the division is wide open. The winner of this one could be next up for Captain America, aka the two-time People’s Champ, Sean Strickland. One thing is certain: this main event is guaranteed to be the equivalent of Topuria vs. Gaethje, even if they fail to throw a single strike and just circle the cage like buzzards for twenty-five minutes compared to last week’s main event. Regardless, this is a fookin’ banger.  

DDP is the GOAT pigeon-toed fighter. Word to the wise: don’t sleep on pigeon-toed kids. They’re always picked last for the pick-up game, then show out like Prince and his crew on their way to a triple-double, two grand slams, and four tuddieslike Al Bundy in the state championship game. DDP will crack your ass like Meek’s cheeks, then take you in the house and serve you pancakes. Pancakes. If it walks like a duck... It’s probably DDP. I joke, but it’s DDP’s awkward footwork, perpetuated by his Kenny Smith knock knees, that made him a better champ than Chimaev. This is a guy who out-struck Sean Strickland twice.  

DDP’s stand-up is awkward like when you were a kid watching a Van Damme movie with your parents and a love scene came on, and you would pretend to be distracted while simultaneously keeping one eye on the action with mammy’s eyes burning a hole in the back of your head. Watching DDP shamble around the cage always reminds me of scuba divers walking on dry land. It was because of his awkwardness that I dismissed DDP for his first eight UFC bouts. I went 0-8 picking against DDP before finally picking him for the first time in the rematch against Strickland. It’s taken a long time to reach this conclusion, but DDP might be the best striker in the division.

Unfortunately, I overestimated his grappling before the Khamzat fight. I thought DDP would do to Khamzat what Strickland did to him. But DDP let me down like a pallbearer. If he had to defend a takedown to save his life, he’d be featured at the Oscars during the “People We Lost” tribute:

DDP

1/14/94 - 8/16/25

Against Chimaev, DDP looked like he had never wrestled in his life. It looked like DDP’s first day on the job when he was on the mat. It looked like he hadn’t even attended new hire orientation. DDP, trying to defend a takedown, looked like letting a dog hump your leg because you don’t want to offend the owner by pushing it away. After being taken down twelve times against Chimaev, DDP’s takedown defense plummeted to 34%. And that’s a bad look going into a fight against a man who averages four takedowns per fifteen minutes.  

Kamaru Usman wrestled his way to the welterweight belt but defended it with his striking. Don’t sleep on this dude’s power. Had their fight been five rounds, Usman would have been the first to defeat Chimaev. Usman has that NES boss power; he’ll take half your health with one punch. Never forget when Usman had Colby Covington speaking through the Wire like Kanye West. Yo, DJ! Hit that shit! He turned Colby into a Gerber baby with his mammy making airplane sounds while feeding him squash-pea purée for six months. Usman’s right hand will leave you like Paul Wall, Sittin’ Sidewayz, boyz in a daze. One right hand and the Toraja people will exhume your body every year and prop you up like a morbid Halloween decoration in a La-Z-Boy recliner with a four-foot water pipe (bong if u want to be a Richard about it) between your legs.

But I say all that to say this: Usman’s path to victory is putting DDP on his back and riding out top control. Like Ross clearance underoos, it ain’t sexy, but it’ll get the job done. The only problem with that game plan is that I don’t think Usman’s takedowns are as diverse as Chimaev’s. There will come a time when Usman will have to win exchanges on his feet. And he can do that. 

DDP is the (-290) favorite, and Usman is the (+240) live dog. Usman has to wrestle more than he strikes. If he ends up striking more than he wrestles, he will lose. It’s hard to figure out DDP’s stand-up. Strickland couldn’t do it after spending fifty minutes in the cage with him. Although both fighters have finishing power, the play for this one is a decision. DDP has yet to be finished in the UFC, and Usman’s only TKO/KO loss came against Leon Edwards and the infamous Head Kick Heard Around the World. 

It wasn’t pretty—it wasn’t even well deserved—but the main event dub streak now sits at three after another McGregor leg malfunction. You can’t overestimate how bad DDP’s takedown defense is. But I think Usman’s wrestling lacks the versatility of Chimaev’s. Dricus Du Plessis via decision. Put it on wax. 

Props

DDP: TKO/KO (+215) Sub (+900) Dec (+165)  

Usman: TKO/KO (+600) Sub (+2500) Dec (+350) 

Winner: Dricus Du Plessis | Method: Decision

Jared Cannonier (+285) vs. Christian Duncan (-360)

Cannonier: DK: $7.1k | CLR: DK: $9.1k

For those who are new to the MMA game, Jared Cannonier made his UFC debut as a heavyweight. He used to wear a fat suit like Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is yes; he was the MMA Lizzo. But Cannonier lost weight without the aid of stomach-paralyzing, blindness inducing “GLP-1" pills. Present-day Cannonier is literally half the man he used to be. My man looked like a fit sumo wrestler as a heavyweight. One day, the man with those Stankonia hands stopped frequenting Spaghetti Junction and got on the Don’t Eat So Much Diet. Not long after, he became a middleweight title challenger.  

Yo, DJ! Hit that Blink-182 “What’s My Age Again!” At 42 years old, Cannonier fights like he can’t remember. For all he knows, he’s still in his mid-twenties. Never forget that at 41 years old, Cannonier KO’d Brazilian Deebo, aka Gregory Rodrigues. One day, this guy will be on Social Security and still knocking MFs out. Even nearing his mid-forties, Cannonier will leave your clock looking So Fresh, So Clean. He’ll still crack your ass like single-ply Toilet Tisha. Do you really wanna know about some Gangsta Shit? Cannonier KO’d Deebo and has a dub over the current champ, Sean Strickland. Call him delusional, but Cannonier still has Gasoline Dreams of being the champ and a lit match. Sorry, Ms. Jackson, but Cannonier is for real, and he would like to apologize to absolutely nobody!  

Even though he still cracks like fault lines, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that Cannonier has lost a step or two like Lieutenant Dan. He has lost three of his last four fights. But the level of competition has been the equivalent of playing Argentina in the World Cup while simultaneously playing against the corrupt referees and the will of the New World Order represented by the FIFA president who is in bed—literally and figuratively—with Epstein class oligarchs trying to turn Argentina into a European outpost in the middle of South America, which they have a decade upon decade’s long ambition of destabilizing, so they can control the region's resources. Cannonier is coming in off a decision loss to Michael Venom Page, and before that he fought Deebo, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho. Surviving those four fights is like surviving through the entire Final Destination franchise. 

Damn, Christian Leroy Duncan is twelve years Cannonier’s junior. I thought CLR was pushing forty himself. That’s because he looks like a classic step uncle. His parents have been calling him “Unc” since grade school. Bet CLR won't turn those loud-ass MF’ing barking dogs that Em was talking about in “Forgot About Dre” into some Hush Puppie slippers and rock them without socks at the BBQ that he wasn’t invited to. My man likes to go barefoot even when he’s not. CLR looks like that uncle who tells Vietnam stories even though he was born in 1975.

But don’t get it twisted, CLR will clean your clock and the ring around your tub like some CLR. Duncan represents the highest level of mall Karate inside the Octagon. He is Rex Kwon Do’s Sensei. Plywood two-by-fours sweat like Lizzo in the produce section when they see CLR coming. When he commits to his striking, CLR has some nifty Karate-inspired attacks, complete with flashing spinning shit. I think his hands don’t quite match the level of his kicks, but his hands are fast, and he has sneaky power. 

CLR’s major malfunction is his resume. Upon closer inspection, CLR’s are suspect like wanted posters. CLR lost to the two best strikers he faced: Armen Petrosyan and Brazilian Deebo. His best dub in noine UFC bouts is Roman Dolidze, and Dolidze is washed like Johnny Depp’s comforter. Likely, CLR will make this fight ugly by trying to wrestle for fifteen minutes. CLR averages only .3 takedowns per fifteen minutes, but that isn’t from a lack of trying. Still, I like his chances on the feet. He’s much quicker and has far less MMA mileage on his odometer.  

CLR is the (-320) favorite, and Cannonier is the (+260) live-ish dog. Cannonier has the one-punch power edge. I think he might even be the bigger finishing threat. You can call me age-ist, but it’s Cannonier’s age that worries me. Even just a year or two ago, Cannonier would have been the easy pick. But once you get into your forties, you start aging in dog years at this level. The play for this one is a decision, but a sprinkle on TKO/KO one way or another wouldn’t be a bad look. Both of these guys can get got. Christian Leroy Duncan via decision. Fook it! I changed my mind. Jared Cannonier via TKO, round three. On wax.   

Props

CLR: TKO/KO (+165) Sub (+2000) Dec (+125) 

Cannonier: TKO/KO (+650) Sub (+3500) Dec (+550)

Winner: Jared Cannonier | Method: TKO Rd.3

Chase Hooper (-355) vs. Mitch Ramirez (+280)

Hooper: DK: $9.2k | Ramirez: DK:$7k

Bust out the Trader Joe's bags, homies. Make sure the roommates are asleep before you escort this one to the Uber. This one is ugly like Buzz’s girlfriend. Woof. Everybody’s favorite dweeb, MMA’s Urkel, aka MMA’s Napoleon Dynamite, Chase Hooper, is back. Like Wu-Tang is for the babies, Chase Hooper is for the dweebs. Before there was Carlos Prates, Jean Silva, and Caio Borralho, Chase Hooper was the original fighting nerd. “Hanging With Mr.” Hooper looks like he rocks Birkenstocks with grubby foot stains on the soles. After winning five straight fights, the human pocket protector has fallen on hard times, losing his last two bouts by TKO. As a result, the UFC is pulling the emergency brake and dumbing down Hooper’s level of competition, giving him Mitch Ramirez, who is 0-2 in the UFC. If Hooper can’t calculate a dub against Mitch Ramirez, it might be time to take up a career as a math tutor.   

Hooper was only nointeen years old when he made his UFC debut. He is now pushing twenty-seven, yet his stand-up still hasn’t grown up. His major malfunction has always been and always will be his striking. My man has grade school talent show stand-up: “Do you like fish sticks?” If Hooper can’t get his opponent to the mat, he’s going to get his ass kicked. It looks like he’s getting picked on every time he’s forced to stand and trade punches. He ends up face down, waiting for the yard duties to intervene. On the rare occasions that he lands a punch, it sounds like when you tap the little service bell at the front desk. No amount of training will improve his stand-up; he is what he is. Homie has al dente noodle arms that can’t generate any amount of force.

But that’s okay because Chase Hooper is a subby chaser. His submission list is longer than Santa’s list. On the mat, Hooper turns into a bully and makes up for all the times he was on the wrong end of atomic wedgies on his feet. If he can’tsubmit to you, he’ll beat you like Ralphie beating Farkus in A Christmas Story while all the neighborhood kids cheer him on, living vicariously through him. His path to victory is to use his 2.4 takedowns per fifteen minutes to take advantage of Mitch Ramirez’s 25% takedown defense.

I don’t know what to say about Mitch Ramirez. My man is an unfortunate son. On the Contender Series, this guy had to fight Carlos Prates up a weight class. As you can imagine, he got his ass cracked like the Liberty Bell. Overall, Ramirez is a walking lay-up. He’s a walking alley-oop on a Nerf rim hanging from your bedroom door. The UFC brass is bringing out the tee for Chase Hooper like strike five in t-ball. They’re busting out the human bumper lanes for Chase. Ramirez is a classic emergency bench player. He’s one of the guys who never takes off his warm-ups unless it’s a thirty-point blowout. Basically, Ramirez is the neighborhood bike, and this is Hooper’s chance to take it for a spin. Will he rail it, go off some sick ramps, catch major air, and become a neighborhood hero? Or will he catch the speed wobbles, crash and burn, and get laughed at?

Ramirez is more of a striker than a grappler. The problem is that he moves like he’s underwater. And he’s defensively deficient. If he ain’t swinging, he’s getting hit. His only form of protection is to keep swinging and not allow the opponent a chance to swing back. Mitch has crude weapons on his feet. His striking is still in the Stone Age; it hasn’t even invented the wheel yet. I say all that to say this: his striking is still good enough to knock out Chase Hooper. Ramirez’s only chance is to stay upright, swing for the fences, and hope for the best.  

Hooper is the (-370) favorite, and Ramirez is the (+295) mangy, flea-ridden dog. The only question is can Hooper finish Ramirez in the first round? I think he can. In his previous fight against Mike Davis, Ramirez gave up an early first-round takedown and spent 4:22 of the round on his back before getting TKO’d in the second round. This fight is tailor-made for an early Hooper finish. The tricky part is choosing between a TKO/KO on the mat or a submission. Give me the submission. Chase Hooper via rear-naked choke, round one. Put it on wax.  

Props

Hooper: TKO/KO (+320) Sub (+150) Dec (+300)

Ramirez: TKO/KO (+500) Sub (+3000) Dec (+900)

Winner: Chase Hooper | Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.1

Tommy McMillen (-148) vs. Alberto Montes (+124)

McMillen: DK: $8.2k | Montes: DK: $8k

“The Reduced Sugar Show” is back. Tommy McMillen is Aspartame O’Malley. He looks like an action figure version of Sean O’Malley, complete with rub-on tattoos. Fighting out of Sean O’Malley’s gym, Tommy McMillen has been riding the hype train since his Contender Series bout. In that fight, Tommy got the brakes, family decals on the rear window, and the Mexican blanket in the backseat beat off him by a guy with “CPU” written under his name, like playing old-school Double Dribble on the NES. McMillen survived an early gilly attempt by nearly breaking his own neck to escape. He went full Exorcist mode, twisting his head damn near off his shoulders to pry his head free. Homie was willing to paralyze himself rather than tap. And for that, McMillen earned my respect. But don’t get it twisted like McGregor’s knee; McMillen is overrated like Chick-fil-A. And Alberto Montes might be just the guy to fraud check him.

McMillen is far from the polished striker that his mentor Sean O’Malley is. This kid's striking is still raw and could use another half hour in the oven at 450 degrees. Tommy is a petulant striker who crashes out on his feet. Like pop quizzes, he just wings it. When Tommy lets his hands go, it looks like a kid throwing a tantrum in the toy aisle at Target. He throws nothing but stray shots like the Fourth of July. To compensate for his lack of technical ability, Tommy creates chaos. This kid thrives on chaos like a toxic ex. His kryptonite is a traditionally paced technical kickboxing match. Tommy has to make every exchange look like a View Level stadium brawl. Finishing fights is Tommy’s best ability. He’s 10-0 with four TKOs/KOs and five subs. Of his five submissions, three are gillies.

Now that I think about it, this is Ilia Topuria vs. Sean O’Malley the Tubi version. Alberto Montes is catfish Topuria. Montes is Topuria if you ordered Topuria from China. He’s the Topuria you get that looks nothing like the picture on the menu. Montes wears Topuria’s fight shorts and shadowboxes at kids' birthday parties. Not only does Montes look like Topuria, but if you look directly at the sun for ten seconds, then squint and tilt your head, his style looks similar to Topuria’s too. Montes is 12-1 with only one TKO/KO and seven subs. This guy has more chokes than U.S. men’s soccer. If you shoot on this guy, he’s going to snatch your neck and gator roll you like an indigenous person at the watering hole cleaning his leaf chonies. He won his last three bouts, including his Contender Series bout and UFC debut, by Anaconda Choke.  

Okay, so he’s got subs like Jared from Subway, but what about his striking? Montes is technically sound on his feet, but he lacks power. Also, his hands are slow like parade floats. That’s where his comparisons to Topuria start to fall apart. He doesn’t want to engage with Tommy in the pocket and extend combinations. I haven’t seen much of Tommy’s grappling, but his camp isn’t known for their grappling. Montes’s path to victory is on the mat, but I don’t know if he has the takedowns to match his submissions. If the fight stays standing, it might only be a matter of time until he walks into one of Tommy’s stray shots.  

Fantasy-wise, Tommy is a Luka Doncic scorer. In two measurable bouts, he averages 9.8 SLpM compared to Montes’s 5.2. Tommy landed 74 significant strikes in just four minutes of work in his debut. But Montes isn’t Manolo Zecchini. Tommy is the slight (-115) favorite, and Montes is the (-105) live-ass dog. I’m hoping Montes will dip into the plus money closer to fight night. I thought Vegas would underestimate him a little. This is a tough fight for McMillen. Montes is one of the more well-rounded fighters that Tommy has faced. Play this one for a finish: A McMillen TKO/KO or a Montes submission. One of these guys will get got. Give me the slight dog: Alberto Montes via Anaconda Choke, round two. On wax. 

Props

McMillen: TKO/KO (+300) Sub (+300) Dec (+500)  

Montes: TKO/KO (+650) Sub (+275) Dec (+600)

Winner: Alberto Montes | Method: Anaconda Choke Rd.2

Tabatha Ricci (+370) vs. Fatima Kline (-485)

Ricci: DK: $6.9k | Kline: DK: $9.3k

If looks could kick ass, Tabatha Ricci would be the Jon Jones of women’s MMA. I feel comfortable typing that because wifey doesn’t read my shit because I have a potty mouf. If you have a daughter, as I do, you want her to learn how to scrap like these two ladies. This is a classic striker vs. wrestler matchup. Tabatha Ricci, aka Baby Shark, will be prowling the mat looking to drag Fatima Kline down and drown her under top control. I know most of you will already have the bowls packed for the official Fight Night Smoke Break when this one begins, but it has the potential to be a crunchy little banger.

And that’s mostly because Fatima Kline is a nasty little striker. She reminds me of a sock tan version of Angela Hill—albino Angela. In fact, Kline just beat her style doppelgänger in her previous bout. That shit looked like an old-school Mortal Kombat mirror match. In the end, Fatima out-Angela Hill’d Angela Hill. Like Angela, Kline’s best weapon is volume. She’ll hit you with 1,000 paper cuts. Yo, DJ! Hit that Linkin Park “Papercut!” She’ll leave your face Numb like when you get a cavity filled. The only knock against her striking is that she needs to be radicalized a little. She obeys Points of Authority too much by subscribing to traditional stand-up orthodoxy. She needs to fight with more of a “fook it!” attitude as she did in the last minute of the Hill fight.

I had to find A Place for My Head after she whooped my hometown girl’s ass. The last minute of that fight looked like the head cheerleader and captain of the girls' volleyball team fighting over me in high school.

“Ladies, ladies, ladies, please... keep fighting.”

Kline is 9-1 with her only loss coming against the wrestling juggernaut Jasimne Jasudavicius. If she beats Tabatha Ricci, Kline will be One Step Closer to being a mile away from a title shot. But, In The End, Kline has the skills to have a long UFC career. 

The bad news for Kline is her 50% takedown defense against a woman who averages 2.5 takedowns per fifteen minutes. Baby Shark will Hold You Down like the Alchemist and Mobb Deep. Hit that shit! She’ll hold you down like a supportive spouse. She’s literally the ol' ball and chain. But can she hold down Kline for fifteen minutes like Jasudavicius did? The hardest thing in MMA is wrestling for fifteen minutes. Only the elite can do it. I’m not sure Ricci is at that level as a wrestler.

Vegas agrees. Kline is the (-360) favorite, and Ricci is the (+290) stray dog. I just don’t see Ricci committing to her wrestling even when it starts to fail. Eventually, this will be a kickboxing match, and Ricci doesn’t have the speed and technical ability to hang with Kline. I might sprinkle a little bit on a Kline late TKO/KO, but I think this one will go the distance. Ricci is a tough little Betty. Give me Fatima Kline via decision. Wax on, wax off. 

Props

Kline: TKO/KO (+500) Sub (+750) Dec (-175)  

Ricci: TKO/KO (+2000) Sub (+1800) Dec (+500)

Winner: Fatima Kline | Method: Decision

Prelims

$7k Value Menu

Austin Bashi ($7.9k): It’s gonna be a rough week for the dogs. This card is a clusterfook of UFC debutantes and unproven fighters. This kid right here was conducting the hype train before his debut. Austin Bashi was 13-0 before fighting C-Rod, Christian Rodriguez. For the better part of three rounds, Bashi got thoroughly handled like Messi’s balls in the World Cup. But he rebounded with a first-round sub over a decent enough fighter in John Yanis. That said, this kid is pretty solid. He’s a prototypical wrestler-striker with an explosive right hand and double leg. He’s Michael Chandler, the Wonder Years. Bashi will be fighting a real savage in Jose Delgado. He can out-wrestle Delgado, but he can’t out-strike him. If he commits to his wrestling, he can out-point Delgado with takedowns and top control. And when it comes to Fantasy scoring, top control can add up quickly.  

Kamaru Usman ($7.2): Usman is a more proven Fantasy commodity. Usman eclipsed 100 Fantasy points in each of his last eight wins. There’s no reason he can’t win this fight. He scored 50 takedowns (exaggerated stat) against Joaquim Buckley. At least, it seemed like 50 takedowns. And the last time we saw him, DDP got wrestle-fooked by Chimaev for twenty-five minutes. Usman can recycle the Buckley game plan and have a similar result. The problem for Usman is that his takedowns aren’t as versatile as Chimaev’s. If he can’t get DDP to the mat consistently, he will have a hard time solving the DDP puzzle on the feet. But Usman has the power to turn the tide with a single punch.  

Jared Cannonier ($7.1k): Don’t go to Jared unless you want to get ya ass kicked. At 42 years old, this guy can still crack ass like pinkies and single-ply. Eleven months ago, Cannonier KO’d Brazilian Deebo, Gregory Rodrigues, after getting every square inch of his ass kicked in the first round. Cannonier still has that Black Mirror Metalhead dog in him. And Christian Leroy Duncan doesn’t. The only good strikers CLR has faced beat him, including Brazilian Deebo. The one-punch power will be in Cannonier’s favor. Most importantly, CLR fades, and Cannonier doesn’t. The longer the fight goes, the better chance Cannonier has of not only winning, but of finishing CLR.  

 $6k Clearance Rack  

Tabatha Ricci ($6.9k): If it wasn’t for Ricci’s aesthetics, this would be one of the ugliest Clearance Racks I’ve seen in a while, chock full of “Consume Within 24 Hrs” near-spoiling options. I don’t like this matchup for Ricci, but she has the wrestle to execute the blueprint that Jasmine Jasudavicius drew up to defeat Fatima Kline. To pull off the upset, Ricci will have to spam takedowns and dominate the top position. It’s not far-fetched to think she can pull it off. Of the low-tier roster options, Ricci has the best chance of scoring an upset or, at the very least, putting something other than a donut up on the Fantasy scoreboard.  

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Jared Cannonier (+275): These odds were 100% inspired by Cannonier’s advanced age. Unless he suddenly looks his age, Cannonier can knock out CLR. At 41, Cannonier went three rounds with Michael Venom Page in his previous bout, and MVP is far more dangerous than CLR. I originally picked CLR to win this fight, but I talked myself into Cannonier. CLR hasn’t looked good against power punchers. I’m going to subscribe to MMA math: Cannonier KO’d Brazilian Deebo, and Brazilian Deebo KO’d CLR. The red flag for Cannonier is his chin, especially early in fights. He nearly gets KO’d in the first round of every fight. But if CLR can’t find an early stoppage, he will fade, and Cannonier will dominate the later minutes.  

Kamaru Usman (+205): I picked DDP to win this bout. I just think his awkward stand-up causes problems for everybody. But there is a clear path to victory on the mat for Usman. He has the power-wrestling to dominate DDP, who rocks a 34% takedown defense and was taken down 12 times against Chimaev. And even if the takedown well runs dry on Usman, he has solid striking with fight-ending power. Go back and watch the last half of the Usman vs. Chimaev fight. Usman was coming on strong and would have won that fight had it been a five-rounder. Usman also has the added motivation of securing a title shot in a second division should he win this fight. 

Alberto Montes (+105): I like to choose more sizeable dogs than Montes, but I struggled to find viable dogs this week. The bottom half of this card is super ugly. If you want a better return on Montes, take him by submission. Overall, I think he’s a more technical, proven fighter than Tommy McMillen. There is a chance that Tommy’s wild style could overwhelm Montes early. But if he can weather the storm, his more tactical approach will win the fight. Montes has a specialty: Anaconda Chokes. He finished his last four fights by Anaconda/Brabo Chokes. Even when standing, this guy can snatch your neck. If Tommy gets out of pocket inside the pocket, Montes can clip his chin and latch onto his neck.  

Twenty Twen-Twen Longshot Parlay

You gotta fight... for your right... to parlaaaaaay! If you parlay the Twenty Twen-Twen options this week, it will yield (+2724) odds. A $5 dollar sprinkle will pay out $136.

Pick ‘Em

Austin Bashi (-108) vs. Jose Delgado (-112) 

Winner: Jose Delgado 

Method: Decision 

Jean-Paul Lesbosnoyani (+190) vs. Seok Hyeon Ko (-230)  

Winner: Seok Hyeon Ko 

Method: Decision 

Levi Rodrigues (-180) vs. Felipe Franco (+155)  

Winner: Levi Rodrigues 

Method: TKO Rd.2 

Alden Coria (-1100) vs. Stewart Nicoll (+700) 

Winner: Alden Coria  

Method: TKO Rd.3 

Richard Harris (+122) vs. Alvin Hines (-142)   

Winner: Richard Harris 

Method: Decision 

Anna Melisano (+350) vs. Dione Barbosa (-450)   

Winner: Dione Barbosa 

Method: Decision 

Damien Anderson (-145) vs. Ezra Elliott (+125)   

Winner: Damien Anderson 

Method: Decision 

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March.

I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.